Marzocchi
44 Micro T
2010 Forks

Product Description

The 140mm travel 44 Micro Ti features adjustable compression and rebound damping with lock out. Another feature borrowed from the 888 is the variable air system which mechanically raises or lowers the oil level to alter the spring curve (from progressive to linear) at the twist of an adjuster. The travel is also internally adjustable from 100, 120 or 140mm using spacers supplied with the fork.

User Reviews

Strengths: Excellent small bump compliance and easy to adjust once you understand the adjustment knobs, buttery smooth travel.

Weaknesses: Tends to wallow when hammering on the pedals if not locked out. Stanchoins seem to scratch easily from mud/dirt, a better coating would have been nice .

Bottom Line:

I purchased this fork from Chainlove in August 2011. From what I have read in the 29er Forum these forks were sent to Marzocchi USA and upgraded to 2011 specs and oil replaced with Spectro.

When I unpacked the fork the first thing I did was measure the stanchion stickout, I wanted to be sure I had a 140mm setup. Some people that purchased these received them setup for 120mm travel which could be changed with some spacers provided. My travel was no where near 140mm so after some investigation I found that I needed to air up the fork to get the full travel as it shipped with very low pressure.

I weigh 240lbs and brought the PSI up to 60 per recommendation from RandyBoy in the 29er Forum (many thanks!) The fork immediately extended out to its full 140mm trvael. On the air leg there is a single red knob which adjusts the air volume in the fork leg. As you close this (clockwise) it essentially increases the air pressure and gives the fork a more "progressive feel". Its 2 clicks per full rotation. I left mine fully open, no clicks. This setting gave me just around 30% sag without breakin.

After installation of the fork I set the rebound adjust. This is a knob located on the bottom of the left fork leg (disc brake side). I completely opened the rebound to Full Fast. I then closed one click at a time. On each click towards Slow I would compress the fork down by pushing on the bars with most of my weight and pulling back up as fast as I could to lift the wheel off the ground. My initial setting is to get the fork to be able to rebound fully about as fast as I can pull the wheel off the ground after being compressed . For myself this is a good starting point.

After setting the compression (air) and rebound my initial feeling was the fork felt buttery smooth. This feeling held through onto my first ride and several others. I ended up speeding the rebound up one click faster on my second ride as it felt a bit nosey on a few larger hits.

Immediately I noticed over the small bumps and chatter the fork ate it up easily. I wanted better small bump compliance and this fork delivered. It almost made my RP23 DWlink seem like it was too stiff and I glanced at the ProPedal a few times to be sure it was off.

I am mostly a seated climber but there are a few sections I like to hammer out of the saddle. Being 240lbs this is where you can really loose some efficiency if your fork is too soft. I found the Marzocchi Micro Ti did exactly that when unlocked. It wallowed like crazy. I tried closing the volume adjustment to about 7-8 turns, really not much change. I completed the ride still very pleased with the fork overall.

The Micro Ti had a fairly stiff feeling but I felt my White Brother Fluid 29 with its huge crown and non QR 20mm axle with radial axle clamps was stiffer. The WB Fluid 29 seemed to be able to hold a better line when the going got really chunky although this was not a deal breaker and maybe not as noticeable with a lighter rider.

I really wanted to dial in the standing climbing so on my next few rides I started using the lockout. The lockout is red lever on the top of the left leg with gold knob on top. The red lever turns the lockout on and off with a quarter turn which ends up being really easy to engage and disengage quickly. The gold knob allows you to "micro adjust" the compression while locked out. At first the red lever did nothing until I cranked the gold knob 10-12 full turns (clockwise), then the lockout worked. I was really impressed with how well it worked as I still had some dampening but all the wallow was gone without being completely locked. This was really nice for long climbs.

I also increased my air pressure to ~66PSI and backed the volume adjust to about 4 full turns. This left the fork feeling really nice in the small bumps yet not too soft for a few out of the saddle cranks with the lockout off.

Overall the fork felt great and I had small bump compliance which is something the White Brothers Fluid 29 lacked completely although it didn't require a lockout and felt great on big hits.

The Micro Ti ate up everything big and small and I felt a bit less fatigued in my wrists after a few really chattery sections.

I did ride one fairly muddy rainy day and one of the forks seals on the air side started leaking oil most likely from a result of the mud and dirt. Marzocchi USA issued me an RMA and the fork has gone back to them for seal replacement. Im hoping this is fluke bad oil seal and not a future issue as my previous Marzocchi forks and WB never had a problem with mud .

All in all I am really impressed with this fork and its good to have that ultra smooth Marzocchi fork action back on the bike. With the adjustability you should be able to make this fork work for most any rider size and style. For the money I paid, I don't think it can be beat.

There are some bad reviews on this fork floating around...all bunk!! The early models had an issue with a sticking bushing that you had to modify to correct. I called Marzocchi before I purchased this and they said the new ones had been fixed and told me how to double check it without having to disassemble the fork. Installed it, tuned it to Marzocchi's suggestions for my weight and off I went. The bike rides like a cadillac now. The small bump compliance is butter smooth. I cannot make any complaints about the performance.